An Orthopedic information source updated by the physicians of Cooley-Dickinson Medical Group Orthopedics and Sports Medicine; aimed at helping the active population of Western Massachusetts get the most out of life.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

How Safe is Artificial Turf?

There is a well intentioned women's soccer coach from the University of Washington who has brought up the possibility that the new generation of artificial turf is causing cancer in young athletes. The first generations of artificial turf (AstroTurf) were thought to cause too many injuries in the athletes. These surfaces were painful to play on and brought on a host of new injuries (rug burn, turf toe, etc...). Enter the new generation of artificial turf, a combination of subsurface of stone and recycled rubber covered by artifical blades of grass and an in-fill of crumb rubber made from old tires. These new surfaces decrease landfill use by re-using old tires. They significantly decrease the use of water and fertilizer. They decrease the maintenance costs. But are they safe? Athletes will spend countless hours sliding, diving and rolling around on these fields. They will come home with black rubber granules embedded in their elbows, knees and shins. They will end up with them in their ears, nose and mouth. Along with Coach Griffin, there are a number of watchdog groups that have continued to advocate for young athletes by questioning if chemicals released by the re-purposed rubber is causing cancer.

This response was fairly convincing and consistent with any scientific evidence that I have read. If you want more information on the subject, the Synthetic Turf Council summarizes a number of the recent research efforts.

We are a multispecialty Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Group. We have doctors with fellowship training in Hand Surgery, Joint Reconstruction, Sports Medicine, and Arthroscopic Surgery. HampOrtho has been providing orthopedic care for patients in the Pioneer Valley for over 50 years.